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My MacCat withstood 3 rounds of hail and downpour last Saturday and sustained no damage whatsoever. The hail was very small though. Not sure how it would have done with large hail. The tarp probably weighed over a pound more from all the water it absorbed when I packed it up the next morning.

My Maccat Deluxe survived an onslaught of hail during a kick-*** summer thunderstorm. It sure was exciting! I was lying there expecting the tarp to disintegrate at any moment, but it came through without a scratch!

Has anyone gotten in a hailstorm severe enough to damage your tarp? I'm just curious how much hail a tarp can stand. Thanks

After seeing what BIG hail will do to my roof and my vehicle, I'm not left with a warm fuzzy feeling about a tarp stopping much.

With that being said, I've weathered some smaller hail storms with a pu coated polyester and a silnylon tarp without any visible damage. I just try to find a place that the canopy will slow it down before hitting me.

My old MC Deluxe and my Speer8x10 have been through hail storms without issue! The MCD went through a nasty one too hail the size of golf balls without one problem! The Speer the hail was a little smaller than the stuff that hit the MCD but I had no problems!
Both times I had my tarp pitched at a very steep angle so that also plays into the equation and tarps ability to handle hail and stuff like that! At least that has been my experience, others may differ!?!?

"yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift---thats why its called a present" - Master Oogway
It's always best if your an early riser!

It depends on the tarp fabric and construction I suppose. My Maccat 1.1 Silnylon and MLD 2K.08 Cuben have both survived some pretty serious hail peltings in the high country with no visible damage. If you go to lighter weight fabrics, maybe not so much.

Thanks for the replies. I just happened to be thinking about it, and all other kinds of problems have been reported and discussed on this forum, but I don't recall a single mention of hail damage. I'm thinking that the pitch of the tarp, the ability of the tarp to give and absorb the energy of the hail stones, and certainly the strength of the good tarps, all help to prevent damage. Hanging under the tree branches would definitely help as well, but I would imagine there have been hammocks hit that were simply hung from a stand, totally exposed to the hail. Still no reports of damage. Interesting and comforting. Thanks again for the replies.

Love your enemies, but keep your gun oiled!

I am a CONCENTRATED vegetarian. I let the cows eat all the grass, and then I eat the cows!

... I'm thinking that the pitch of the tarp, the ability of the tarp to give and absorb the energy of the hail stones, and certainly the strength of the good tarps, all help to prevent damage. Hanging under the tree branches would definitely help as well...

I think this quote sums it up nicely. Many folks forget that the tarp, especially silnylon ones, have a little stretch to absorb energy. This is a major factor which cars and roofs don't possess.